Fantasy Football Week 11: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

For some leagues, the trade deadline is either this week or will arrive soon. It's time to start doing that research, folks, as any moves now could be the difference between a playoff team and another bitter end to your fantasy season.

How much value does your star running back actually hold? What kind of deals could you make for that injured tight end that keeps playing but you are worried about? What can that up-and-coming quarterback get you in a trade?

Look no further than my weekly trade value chart for those answers.

Notes: The top 100 players were determined by using the current ESPN standard-scoring league rankings, calculating each player's "value over replacement player" (VORP for short) and by projecting a player's value for the rest of the season.

VORP was calculated by determining how many additional (or fewer) points per week a player scores compared to the best bench player at his position in 10-team leagues (No. 11 quarterback and tight end; No. 26 running back and wide receiver, taking the flex into account). Games missed due to injury or suspension count against a player's VORP.

Any player not listed has a trade value of one. Remember, this is only a guide—your team needs and areas of strength should always determine any potential trades.

In my humble opinion, the answer to whether Andrew Luck is still a QB1 is "yes."

The top seven quarterbacks in the rankings are essentially locked at this point, and it's hard to see any of those players losing much value except for one—Philip Rivers.

After scoring 22 or more fantasy points in three of the first four weeks this season, Rivers hasn't scored more than 18 points since and has reached the 18-point mark just twice. Since Week 5, he has 73 fantasy points, hardly shabby but less than the 90 Andrew Luck has posted and the 108 from Romo (albeit in one extra game).

So let's say you picked up a player like Nick Foles on waivers—who has seen his trade value take a major bump in recent weeks given the 10 touchdowns he's thrown in his past two games, and the fact that he's 17th in fantasy points among quarterbacks despite starting just four games—and want to move Rivers for help at other positions.

Hey, look who cracks the trade value chart this week—it's Case Keenum! With 60 fantasy points in his three starts, he's earned a place in the top 100.

And no, I still don't know exactly where Tom Brady belongs. I believe he'll be better than he has been thus far, but I also don't trust him this week against the Carolina Panthers, so I still don't think his trade value is that high. Either buy him low or hold onto him, but if you are actively shopping him, you won't get much in return.

Running Backs

Week 11 Trade Value for Running Backs

Rank

Position Rank

Player

Team

VORP

Trade Value

2

1

Jamaal Charles

Kansas City Chiefs

8.7

29

3

2

Adrian Peterson

Minnesota Vikings

8.4

29

4

3

Matt Forte

Chicago Bears

7.6

29

8

4

Marshawn Lynch

Seattle Seahawks

6.8

27

9

5

LeSean McCoy

Philadelphia Eagles

6.2

27

10

6

Knowshon Moreno

Denver Broncos

6.8

27

14

7

Frank Gore

San Francisco 49ers

5.3

25

15

8

Reggie Bush

Detroit Lions

4.8

25

16

9

Alfred Morris

Washington

4.4

25

17

10

Eddie Lacy

Green Bay Packers

2.8

25

25

11

Chris Johnson

Tennessee Titans

3.1

22

26

12

Stevan Ridley

New England Patriots

1.6

22

27

13

DeMarco Murray

Dallas Cowboys

1.3

22

31

14

Zac Stacy

St. Louis Rams

0.7

20

33

15

Giovani Bernard

Cincinnati Bengals

2.4

20

34

16

Le'Veon Bell

Pittsburgh Steelers

0.2

20

48

17

Fred Jackson

Buffalo Bills

3.2

15

49

18

Andre Brown

New York Giants

-5.7

15

50

19

Danny Woodhead

San Diego Chargers

1.2

15

51

20

Ben Tate

Houston Texans

-2.5

15

65

21

C.J. Spiller

Buffalo Bills

-1.9

10

68

22

Ray Rice

Baltimore Ravens

-1.9

10

69

23

Pierre Thomas

New Orleans Saints

1.2

9

70

24

Darren Sproles

New Orleans Saints

0.2

9

71

25

DeAngelo Williams

Carolina Panthers

0.6

9

72

26

Ryan Mathews

San Diego Chargers

0.4

9

76

27

Andre Ellington

Arizona Cardinals

0.3

6

77

28

Maurice Jones-Drew

Jacksonville Jaguars

0

6

78

29

Chris Ivory

New York Jets

-3.3

6

91

30

Rashad Jennings

Oakland Raiders

-1.8

3

92

31

Donald Brown

Indianapolis Colts

-2.6

3

97

32

Lamar Miller

Miami Dolphins

-1.5

2

98

33

Darren McFadden

Oakland Raiders

-0.6

2

100

34

Trent Richardson

Indianapolis Colts

-1.6

2

Running Back Notes

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

As you can see, there is a definitive group at RB1 in 10-team leagues. Those players are extremely valuable. Then, in the RB2 group there are about six players who I think have a lot of value and have been consistent performers for owners.

After that, well, good luck.

Fred Jackson's value is hurt by C.J. Spiller getting touches. Spiller's value is hurt by his injury issues. Andre Brown has great upside but has been plagued by fumble and injury issues in the past. Danny Woodhead has limited value in a timeshare with Ryan Mathews. Ben Tate is the lead dog now but has four broken ribs.

Deep breath.

Ray Rice is obviously battling through injuries. It's always tough to trust New Orleans and Carolina running backs. Andre Ellington keeps inexplicably losing snaps to the plodding Rashard Mendenhall. Maurice Jones-Drew has just kind of stunk this year. Players like Rashad Jennings, Chris Ivory and Donald Brown have value but aren't definitively the lead backs just yet.

It's why so many top-end running backs have very high value, and it's why you really shouldn't trade one unless you have three or four top-15 options and are absolutely desperate for help at other positions.

This has been your weekly update on the sad state of the running back position in fantasy football. Thanks for reading!

Of non-quarterbacks, only Jamaal Charles (16.3) and Adrian Peterson (16.0) are averaging more fantasy points per week than Calvin Johnson's 15.3. Megatron has scored an astronomical 83 fantasy points in the past three weeks, one point less than what Torrey Smith has scored all season.

Good grief.

Here's another sobering stat. A.J. Green has an astonishing 119 targets this year. The only other player in the NFL with more than 100 is Vincent Jackson at 102 (which is one reason why Jackson is now relegated to the land of WR2 but still has a ton of upside).

Andre Johnson's immediate rapport with Case Keenum under center (he has a gaudy 63 fantasy points in his last three games) returns him squarely to the WR1 crowd, while Dez Bryant slips a bit down the value chart due to the Dallas Cowboys apparently forgetting how to properly utilize him the past two weeks.

The most intriguing player near the top of the rankings is Jordy Nelson. With Seneca Wallace and then Scott Tolzien under center last week, Nelson caught just six passes for 56 yards, his second straight week without reaching double-digit fantasy points.

So, let's say you don't trust Nelson without Rodgers. What type of players can you expect to get for him?

If you play the matchups correctly, there are a lot more promising options at wide receiver than running back (hence 10 running backs in the top 17 players on the value chart and just four wide receivers).

Tight Ends

Week 11 Trade Value for Tight Ends

Rank

Position Rank

Player

Team

VORP

Trade Value

7

1

Jimmy Graham

New Orleans Saints

8.8

28

24

2

Rob Gronkowski

New England Patriots

-2.6

23

28

3

Julius Thomas

Denver Broncos

5.4

21

35

4

Jordan Cameron

Cleveland Browns

3.9

19

36

5

Vernon Davis

San Francisco 49ers

3.1

19

54

6

Tony Gonzalez

Atlanta Falcons

1.5

13

55

7

Antonio Gates

San Diego Chargers

1.1

13

56

8

Jason Witten

Dallas Cowboys

1.0

13

57

9

Jordan Reed

Washington

0.8

13

74

10

Martellus Bennett

Chicago Bears

0.5

7

75

11

Charles Clay

Miami Dolphins

0.4

7

96

12

Greg Olsen

Carolina Panthers

0

2

Tight End Notes

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Despite being injured, Jimmy Graham continues to produce. Graham had just five receptions for 59 yards last week, a down week by his standards, but his down week is equivalent to Coby Fleener's fantasy production (5.6 fantasy points) per game.

So yeah, he's still insanely valuable.

But let's say you aren't convinced and want to sell him high, since you have a good backup tight end and want to solidify your roster after being hurt by injuries. What could you get for him in a trade?

The tight end rankings haven't changed much this year, but Rob Gronkowski remains the great unknown. It appears likely he'll be as valuable as Graham—he has 31 total points in two of his three games, though he did lay an egg against the Miami Dolphins with just two fantasy points—but we still only have three games to go by, and Brady hasn't been himself this year.

The only major change here is that the Carolina Panthers are now the second-most valuable fantasy defense. That will happen after scoring double-digit fantasy points in seven straight games, making this Panthers defense the hottest in all of football.

Interestingly enough, three of these four defenses are really tough starts this week, as the Kansas City Chiefs face the Denver Broncos, the Panthers take on the New England Patriots, and the San Francisco 49ers travel to play the New Orleans Saints.

Avoid the Chiefs and Niners at all costs. You could start the Panthers, but it's risky. Any way you look at it, though, there are four clear elite defenses for fantasy owners this season.

Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy lineup questions, tweet random fantasy musings and wonder how the New Orleans Saints could earn almost as many first downs (40) on Sunday night as the Dallas Cowboys ran plays (43).